One-handed tufting tool

ABSTRACT

A tufting tool for making items from yarn comprising a body member defining a finger-receiving aperture adjacent one end thereof and a plunger section mounted on the body member for reciprocation relative to the body member. The plunger section includes a plunger and at least one finger-receiving aperture whereby the plunger section and the body member can be reciprocated relative to each other in a one-handed operation. A needle is mounted on a body member adjacent the other end thereof, and the needle has passage means for receiving the plunger and the yarn.

United States Patent 11 1 Houghton et al.

Apr. 9, 1974 ONE-HANDED TUFTlNG TOOL [75] Inventors: George L. Houghton, Santa Ana;

Fred F. F redensberg, Long Beach, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Rug Crafters, Santa Ana, Calif.

[22] Filed: Apr. 7, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 242,174

[52] US Cl. 112/80 [51] Int. Cl. D05c 15/06 [58] Field of Search 112/80, 169, 223, 102, 112/103, 104; 128/340 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,057,920 10/1936 Rose 112/80 2,579,192 12/1951 Kohl 112/169 3,714,915 2/1973 Montell et al. 112/80 Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Assistant Examiner-Wai M. Chan Attorney, Agent, or FirmSmyth, Roston & Pavitt [5 7] ABSTRACT A tufting tool for making items from yarn comprising a body member defining a finger-receiving aperture adjacent one end thereof and a plunger section mounted on the body member for reciprocation relative to the body member. The plunger section includes a plunger and at least one finger-receiving aperture whereby the plunger section and the body member can be reciprocated relative to each other in a onehanded operation. A needle is mounted on a body member adjacent the other end thereof, and the needle has passage means for receiving the plunger and the yarn.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 I ONE-HANDED TUFTING TOOL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A popular pass time for the home craftsman is the making of rugs, tapestries, pillows, purses, etc. from yarn using a tufting tool. Typically a fabric base or backing is mounted on a free-standing frame and the tufting tool is manually operated to carry out the tufting operation. The craftsman must use both hands in operating the tufting tool; Specifically, the craftsman reciprocates a plunger section and a body member relative to each other in a predetermined sequence to operate the tool. This operation works very well; however, there are instances, such as when traveling, when a free-standing frame cannot be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based, in part, upon the realization that the tufting craft could be more widely practiced and enjoyed if tufting tools could be operated with only one hand. This would free theother hand for holding the frame. Unfortunately, the construction of prior art tufting tools prevents them from being operated with only one hand. I

The present invention provides a tufting tool which can be fully operated with only one hand. This frees the other hand for supporting the frame. Thus, with the present invention the tufting craft can be practiced by a person without an assistant and without a freestanding frame.

These advantageous concepts can be carried out by using a tufting tool which includes a body member and a plunger section and by providing afinger-receiving aperture on each of the body member and the plunger section. Preferably two finger-receiving apertures are provided on the plunger section on opposite sides thereof and one finger-receiving aperture is provided on the body member at one end thereof. To facilitate operation of the tufting too], all of the finger-receiving apertures are preferably located in substantially the same plane and sufficiently close together to readily accommodate the fingers of the user.

The present invention also provides novel means for mounting the plunger section on the body member for relative reciprocation. Such means may include an elongated mounting section on the plunger section and wall means on the body member defining passage for slidably receiving the elongated mounting section. The wall means may include the body memberv and a separate member mounted on the body member, or it may include only the separate member. In a preferred form of the invention, the mounting section has a slot which 4 member. The needle has passage means for slidably receiving a plunger which is attached to the mounting section. The passage means also receives the yarn. Preferably the wall means which mounts the mounting section is an integral part of the needle.

The invention can best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tufting tool constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing the tool in use.

FIG.'5 is a top plan view of the plunger section.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line 66 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a tufting tool 11 which generally includes a body member 13, a plunger section 15 and a needle 17 mounted on the body member. The body member 13 in the embodiment illustrated includes a shank 19 and a ring 21 integrally joined to the shank. The shank l9 and the ring 21 are constructed of flat metal bar stock in-the embodiment illustrated. A grommet 23 constructed of soft material such as rubber is seated within the ring 21 to define therewith a fingerreceiving opening 25 at one end of the body member 13. Although the grommet 23 could be mounted on the ring 21 in different ways, in the embodiment illustrated, the grommet is formed with a circumferentially extending, outwardly opening annular groove 27 (FIG. 6) which receives an inner annular portion of the ring 21. If desired, an adhesive may be used to strengthen the connection between the ring 21 and the grommet 23.

The needle 17 includes a mounting portion 29 and a relatively sharp, fabric penetrating portion 31 (FIGS. 1-3) which protrudes axially of the portion 29. In the embodiment illustrated, the needle 17 is constructed of thin sheet material and is spot welded along its opposite longitudinal edges to the shank 19. As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting portion 29 terminates at the end of the shank 19 remote from the ring 21. The mounting portion 29 and the outer end portion of the shank 19 define wall means which defines passage means through the mounting section. The passage means is divided by a blade 33 into passages 35 and 37 for receiving yarn 39 (FIG. 4) and a mounting portion 41 (FIGS. 1-3) of the plunger section 15. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting portion 41 is supported in the illustrated position by the upper surface of the shank 19. The mounting portion 29 has side wall portions 43 which confine the mounting portion 41 against lateral movement relative to mounting portion 29 and ledges 45 integral with the side wall portions, respectively, for restraining the mounting portion 41 against the movement away from the shank 19.

The plunger section 15 (FIG. 5) includes the mounting portion 41, a plunger or tongue 47 connected to the mounting portion, a hoop 49 circumscribing the mounting portion 41, and rings 51 and 53.

The mounting portion 41 is elongated and has an elongated slot 55 therein. The plunger 47 is integral with the mounting portion 41 and projects axially thereof. As shown in FIG. 2 the plunger 47 also projects upwardly from the mounting portion 41 and the outer end of the plunger contacts the blade 33 in the position shown in FIG. 2.

The hoop 49 includes arms 57 and 59 and an end section 61 in the form of an inverted U. Each of the arms 59 and 57 is spaced from the mounting portion 41 and is in the form of an integral flat wire. The end section 61 is integral with the arms 57 and 59 and the sheet material at the juncture of the end section 61 and arms 57 and 59 is bent so that the end section extends upwardly perpendicular to the parallel arms.

The rings 51 and 53 are integral with the legs 57 and 59, respectively, and are located in the same plane on opposite sides of the plunger section 15. Grommets 63 and 65 are mounted on the rings 51 and 53 in any suitable manner such as described hereinabove with reference to the grommet 23 and the ring 21 (FIG. 6). The rings 51 and 53 and their associated grommets define finger-receiving apertures 67 and 69. Except for the grommets 63 and 65 the plunger section 16 is integrally constructed of sheet material.

The plunger 15 is mounted on the shank 19 as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Specifically, the mounting section 41 is slidably mounted on the upper surface of the shank 17, the sidewall portions 43 and the ledges 45 as best shown in FIG. 3. A screw 71 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is mounted on the shank 19 and projects upwardly into the needle 17 and the slot 55. The screw 71 cooperates with an end 73 of the slot 55 (FIGS. 2 and 5) to limit movement of the plunger section upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 relative to the body member 13. The position of the screw 71 and the length of the slot 55 are selected so that they cooperate to prevent the complete removal of the plunger section 15 from the body member 13.

With the plunger section 15 mounted on the body member 13, as shown in FIG. 1, the finger-receiving apertures 25, 67 and 69 lie substantially in the same plane. The body member 13 and the plunger section 15 can be reciprocated relative to each other by inserting the thumb, middle finger, and index finger of the same hand into the apertures 25, 67 and 69, respectively. Alternatively, the index and middle finger may go in the apertures 69 and 67, respectively.

Except for the one-handed operation capability, the tufting tool 11 may be operated in a conventional and well-known manner. Generally, the yarn 39 is inserted through the passage 35, as shown in FIG. 4. A base layer of fabric is stretched over and mounted on a frame (not shown). The body member 13 and the plunger section 15 are then reciprocated in a conventional manner to force the yarn 39 through the fabric 75 to perform the tufting operation.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, many changes, modifications and substitutions may be made by one having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

I. A tufting tool for use with yarn comprising:

a body member defining a finger-receiving aperture adjacent one end thereof;

a plunger section;

means for mounting said plunger section on said body member for reciprocation relative to the body member;

said plunger section including a plunger and at least one finger-receiving aperture whereby the plunger section and the body member can be reciprocated relative to each other in a one-handed operation;

a needle mounted on the body member adjacent the other end thereof, said needle having a fabric penetrating portion which projects beyond said other end of said body member and passage means for receiving the plunger and the yarn;

said plunger section defining a slot; and

a stop in fixed relationship to said body member, said stop projecting into said slot to limit movement of the plunger section relative to the body member in at least one direction.

2. A tufting tool as defined in claim 1 wherein said plunger section includes a mounting section and said means for mounting includes wall means for defining a passage for slidably receiving said mounting section to thereby mount the plunger section on the body member.

3. A tufting tool as defined in claim 2 wherein said plunger section includes a circumscribing section at least partially circumscribing said mounting section, said plunger section including first and second fingerreceiving apertures on opposite sides of said mounting section, the finger-receiving aperture of said body member being intermediate the first and second fingerreceiving apertures in a direction transverse to the direction of the reciprocation.

4. A tufting tool for use with yarn comprising:

a body member;

a plunger section including an elongated mounting section and an elongated plunger connected to and movable with the mounting section;

wall means on said body member defining a passage for receiving said elongated mounting section, said elongated mounting section being slidably receivable in said passage to thereby mount said plunger section for reciprocation relative to said body member;

a needle mounted on said body member adjacent one end thereof, said needle including a relatively sharp fabric penetrating portion projecting beyond said one end of said body member, said needle having passage means for slidably receiving the plunger and for receiving the yarn;

first means on said body member and said plunger section to facilitate the manual reciprocation thereof;

said mounting section including a generally flat bar with the opposed faces of said flat bar being engageable with said wall means;

said bar having a slot therein; and

a stop fixed with respect to said body member, said stop being received in said slot to limit the movement of the plunger section relative to the body member in at least one direction.

5. A tufting tool as defined in claim 4 wherein said first means includes first and second finger-receiving apertures on the opposite sides of the bar and a fingerreceiving aperture mounted on one end of said body member, at least a portion of said wall means being integral with and forming a portion of said needle and defining an abutment at one end, said plunger section having a surface engageable with said abutment to limit the movement of said plunger section relative to said body member in the other direction. A

6. A tufting tool comprising:

a body member;

a plunger section including an elongated mounting section, an elongated plunger attached to said mounting section and projecting generally axially therefrom,-a first arm spaced laterally from said mounting section to define a first slot, and means for attaching said arm to said mounting section;

a needle mounted on said body member adjacent one end thereof, said needle including a relatively sharp fabric penetrating portion projecting beyond said one end of said body member, said needle having passage means for slidably receiving the mounting section to thereby at least assist in mounting said plunger section for reciprocation relative to said body member;

said first slot being adapted to receive a first portion of said needle therein during the reciprocation of the plunger section; and

first means attached to said body member adjacent the other end thereof and to said first arm to facilitate the manual reciprocation of the plunger section relative to the body section.

7. A tufting tool as defined in claim 6 wherein said plunger section includes a second arm spaced laterally from the mounting section to define a second slot, said first and second slots being separated by said mounting section, said second slot being adapted to receive a second portion of said needle therein during the reciprocation of the plunger section, and said first means being attached to both of said arms.

8. A tufting tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said first means includes means attached to said first and second arms for defining first and second finger receiving apertures and means for defining a third finger receiving aperture adjacent said other end of said body member.

9. A tufting tool as defined in claim 6 including an end section of generally U-shaped configuration interconnecting adjacent end portions of said arms.

'10. A tufting tool comprising:

a body member including a first bar having a flat face;

a needle mounted on said first bar adjacent one end of said first bar;

said needle having a mounting passage therein and a relatively sharp portion projecting beyond said one end of said first bar;

a plunger section including an elongated mounting section having a flat face and an elongated plunger connected to and movable with the mounting section, said mounting section being wider than said elongated plunger;

said mounting section overlying said first bar with said flat faces in closely adjacent confronting relationship and being slidably receivable in said mounting passage of said needle, said needle having side wall portions which confine the mounting section against substantial lateral movement relative to the needle and at least one ledge portion for restraining the mounting section against movement away from the body member whereby said needle at least assists in mounting the plunger section on the body member for reciprocating movement;

first means on said body member and said plunger section to facilitate one-handed reciprocation of the plunger section relative to the body member; and

said first means including means defining at least one finger receiving aperture.

11. A tufting tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said first bar is flat and said mounting section includes a generally flat bar.

12. A tufting tool as defined in claim 10 wherein the axis of said needle is generally linear. 

1. A tufting tool for use with yarn comprising: a body member defining a finger-receiving aperture adjacent one end thereof; a plunger section; means for mounting said plunger section on said body member for reciprocation relative to the body member; said plunger section including a plunger and at least one finger-receiving aperture whereby the plunger section and the body member can be reciprocated relative to each other in a one-handed operation; a needle mounted on the body member adjacent the other end thereof, said needle having a fabric penetrating portion which projects beyond said other end of said body member and passage means for receiving the plunger and the yarn; said plunger section defining a slot; and a stop in fixed relationship to said body member, said stop projecting into said slot to limit movement of the plunger section relative to the body member in at least one direction.
 2. A tufting tool as defined in claim 1 wherein said plunger section includes a mounting section and said means for mounting includes wall means for defining a passage for slidably receiving said mounting section to thereby mount the plunger section on the body member.
 3. A tufting tool as defined in claim 2 wherein said plunger section includes a circumscribing section at least partially circumscribing said mounting section, said plunger section including first and second finger-receiving apertures on opposite sides of said Mounting section, the finger-receiving aperture of said body member being intermediate the first and second finger-receiving apertures in a direction transverse to the direction of the reciprocation.
 4. A tufting tool for use with yarn comprising: a body member; a plunger section including an elongated mounting section and an elongated plunger connected to and movable with the mounting section; wall means on said body member defining a passage for receiving said elongated mounting section, said elongated mounting section being slidably receivable in said passage to thereby mount said plunger section for reciprocation relative to said body member; a needle mounted on said body member adjacent one end thereof, said needle including a relatively sharp fabric penetrating portion projecting beyond said one end of said body member, said needle having passage means for slidably receiving the plunger and for receiving the yarn; first means on said body member and said plunger section to facilitate the manual reciprocation thereof; said mounting section including a generally flat bar with the opposed faces of said flat bar being engageable with said wall means; said bar having a slot therein; and a stop fixed with respect to said body member, said stop being received in said slot to limit the movement of the plunger section relative to the body member in at least one direction.
 5. A tufting tool as defined in claim 4 wherein said first means includes first and second finger-receiving apertures on the opposite sides of the bar and a finger-receiving aperture mounted on one end of said body member, at least a portion of said wall means being integral with and forming a portion of said needle and defining an abutment at one end, said plunger section having a surface engageable with said abutment to limit the movement of said plunger section relative to said body member in the other direction.
 6. A tufting tool comprising: a body member; a plunger section including an elongated mounting section, an elongated plunger attached to said mounting section and projecting generally axially therefrom, a first arm spaced laterally from said mounting section to define a first slot, and means for attaching said arm to said mounting section; a needle mounted on said body member adjacent one end thereof, said needle including a relatively sharp fabric penetrating portion projecting beyond said one end of said body member, said needle having passage means for slidably receiving the mounting section to thereby at least assist in mounting said plunger section for reciprocation relative to said body member; said first slot being adapted to receive a first portion of said needle therein during the reciprocation of the plunger section; and first means attached to said body member adjacent the other end thereof and to said first arm to facilitate the manual reciprocation of the plunger section relative to the body section.
 7. A tufting tool as defined in claim 6 wherein said plunger section includes a second arm spaced laterally from the mounting section to define a second slot, said first and second slots being separated by said mounting section, said second slot being adapted to receive a second portion of said needle therein during the reciprocation of the plunger section, and said first means being attached to both of said arms.
 8. A tufting tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said first means includes means attached to said first and second arms for defining first and second finger receiving apertures and means for defining a third finger receiving aperture adjacent said other end of said body member.
 9. A tufting tool as defined in claim 6 including an end section of generally U-shaped configuration interconnecting adjacent end portions of said arms.
 10. A tufting tool comprising: a body member including a first bar having a flat face; a needle mounted on said first bar adjacent one end of saiD first bar; said needle having a mounting passage therein and a relatively sharp portion projecting beyond said one end of said first bar; a plunger section including an elongated mounting section having a flat face and an elongated plunger connected to and movable with the mounting section, said mounting section being wider than said elongated plunger; said mounting section overlying said first bar with said flat faces in closely adjacent confronting relationship and being slidably receivable in said mounting passage of said needle, said needle having side wall portions which confine the mounting section against substantial lateral movement relative to the needle and at least one ledge portion for restraining the mounting section against movement away from the body member whereby said needle at least assists in mounting the plunger section on the body member for reciprocating movement; first means on said body member and said plunger section to facilitate one-handed reciprocation of the plunger section relative to the body member; and said first means including means defining at least one finger receiving aperture.
 11. A tufting tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said first bar is flat and said mounting section includes a generally flat bar.
 12. A tufting tool as defined in claim 10 wherein the axis of said needle is generally linear. 